Sunday, October 2, 2011

Trans candidate makes Canadian history in Ontario

Sep. 28, 2011 - "In the suburban riding of Mississauga–Brampton South, Christin Milloy is making history as the first out trans candidate to run in a Canadian provincial election.

"Aside from municipal elections, the only other out trans candidate was nominated in 2007 at the federal level in the riding of Quebec City, ... activist and lawyer Micheline Anne Montreuil.... But Montreuil didn’t make it to the end of the campaign. She claimed she was dropped because the NDP objected to her gender identity....

"Milloy, 27, is running for the Libertarian Party. She says one of her platform priorities is modernizing the process to change sex designation on a birth certificate. She says there are currently unnecessary and potentially harmful barriers for trans people if they want to change their birth certificates.

"'We have a situation where the government is actually forcing trans people to mutilate their bodies,' she says.... 'For the birth certificate, which is issued by the province, proof of transsexual surgery is required.... I plan to fight for the rights of pre-operative and non-operative trans people. We deserve the same recognition as the rest of society.'"